AUSTIN--For many here at South By Southwest 2000 the nonstop music marathon
gets to be too much to endure. Despite the great talent performing all over
town, shuffling from gig to gig can feel like a merciless entertainment
treadmill that will ultimately devour one's sanity, health and enthusiasm.
Sometimes, one worthwhile concert experience is more compelling than five
others might be. Sometimes, finding a decent seat at a venue is just as
important as who's onstage. Sometimes, just sometimes, everything all falls
together and you get to attend a show that satisfies your entire
concert-going needs. Guess what? I was at that show on Thursday night.
For the last four years of SXSW, Sunset on the Border has presented acoustic
Tex-Mex music in the back of Las Manitas restaurant. Produced by Dan Goodman
and Myplay.com's
Paula Batson, and available only to a lucky few, this gig offers excellent
food, a place to sit, great music and some very special guests. As I jumped
out of my car and headed towards Las Manitas yesterday, I noticed a group of
darkly clad men crossing the street with the same destination in mind. It
only took me ten seconds to realize that Los Lobos were in the house and I
was certainly in the right place at the right time.
Yes, the food was hot and tasty and so was the music at Las Manitas. With
musicians like Joe Ely, Rick Trevino, Rueben Ramos, Max Baca as well as Los
Lobos' David Hilgado and Cesar Rojas (the basic lineup of Los Super Seven)
all crowded onto a tiny stage, the audience was treated to a very special
evening of ardent singing and impassioned playing.
In previous years, Sunset on the Border was always graced by the presence of the late Doug Sahm. A pioneering force in Texas music since the sixties, Sahm was a
gregarious musician who never failed to entertain. This year, the concert was
dedicated to Sahm and a solemn Rick Trevino sang the classic Butch Hancock
composition, "She Never Spoke Spanish To Me," in his honor.
While Ely thrilled the crowd with a plaintive version of Woody Guthrie's
"Deportees" and Ramos, Rojas and Hilgado all sang tunes in heartfelt Spanish,
it was yet another special guest who stole the show. Standing patiently off
to the side with his guitar in hand, Steve Earle was finally introduced and
climbed onto the stage to perform just one song. Switching acoustic guitars
with Joe Ely, and murmuring a quick thanks, Earle gave a splendid reading of
the wonderful Townes Van Zandt composition "Pancho and Lefty" before heading
off into the sunset to a gig of his own.
As a finale to an evening filled with musical excitement, the mariachi band
Campanas De America lined up in front and in back of the stage to support
Trevino and Ramos in singing even more authentic folk songs from South of the
Border. By the time the showcase ended and the back room cleared out, it was
only 8pm and an entire night's worth of rowdy gigs loomed ominously before
us. But for some, the evening's music had already been played and the only
thing to do was to head back home, watch some TV, and rest up for three more
fun-filled days of SXSW 2000.
SUNSET
CRUISE